Mobile devices are proliferating in the business industry like never before. The demand for platforms and tools that are capable of running on diverse platforms is on a steady rise. Each of these has certain specialties, features, and their own share of limitations and advantages. Such development tools are launched with a specific purpose and hence focus on different aspects of development.

The demand for these tools is expected to surge ahead in the coming years. According to Forrester research, over 60% of enterprises have already engaged in cross platform mobile app development for their business. It is further expected that the market for cross-platform mobile app development will continue to increase at an annually compounded growth rate.

What is Cross-Platform App Development?

Cross-platform app development is the process of building mobile apps making use of a single code base, which has the capability of running on diverse operating systems. This process helps in saving man-hours, cost, and the effort that is required to build and launch multiple mobile apps across numerous platforms.

Moreover, convenience is not the only reason companies are warming up to cross-platform mobile development tools. Given the exponential rise in the cost of platform development and the paucity of time to market, cross-platform development is the way to go.

In this post, we will be discussing the top cross platform development tools that will help you decide which one will be the most appropriate for your upcoming project.

Top Cross Platform Mobile App Development Tools

#1 Xamarin

Xamarin is one of the most preferred cross-platform development tools that has been embraced by multiple global brands. Easy to use, it is packed with great features that allow the sharing of the base code among multiple platforms and access to native APIs. Apps developed with this platform can be tested on numerous devices through its cloud service.

An important feature of Xamarin is its automation testing provision that helps in faster shipping of apps with almost zero bugs. In addition, the platform includes smooth integration with backends like Microsoft Azure, Parse, and SAP.

#2 Sencha

Sencha is a cross-platform app development tool that is perfectly suited for building apps in HTML5. When the HTML5 code is built, it can be translated into a native operating system like Android or iOS. With its built-in components, Sencha scores high and saves plenty of time, which is otherwise spent in writing manual codes.

In a single interface, Sencha facilitates designing, developing, and testing in a parallel way. IT giants like Google, Samsung, and CNN prefer Sencha against other popular platforms like PhoneGap and Appcelerator.

#3 PhoneGap

PhoneGap is an open source solution and a free tool owned by Adobe used for cross-platform mobile app development for iPhone and Android. It is one of the most popular cross-platform development tools based on Apache Cordova. It helps developers to easily convert codes written in CSS, HTML5, or JavaScript to Native OS.

Cordova API offers flexibility in building applications, which helps developers to write an app once and run it on all devices. It scores further points as it can be used in coding programs for BlackBerry and Windows, apart from native Android and iOS.

#4 Appcelerator

Apache created the Appcelerator tool to save much of app developer’s time. Appcelerator supports JavaScript as a base language for writing code with an MVC framework. It mostly identifies “Appcelerator Titanium,” since making use of titanium SDK helps in the creation of native iOS and Android apps. Many successful and powerful cross-platform development tools are available for free. The code can be reused, which makes it better and different from many other tools.

Moreover, Appcelerator Titanium gives you direct access to native APIs via HyperLoop, which ensures that no compromise is made on the rich and engaging user experience that native mobile apps offer.

#5 Cocos2d

Cocos2d belongs to a family of cross-platform iOS android app development frameworks having integrated functionalities for building mobile apps, games, and interactive programs. Cocos2d helps in the development of 2D apps and publishes a single code base for mobile, desktop, and web, as well as for consoles. With this tool, developers get multiple options for languages in which they can write the code.

The tool has multiple branches like cocos2d-objc, cocos2d-x, Cocos2d-XNA, and Cocos2d (Python).

Cross platform mobile app development is a great way for mobile app developers to create several apps for multiple platforms making use of a single code base. With the tools outlined above, developers can reuse their code and save a lot of time and money while launching the app, keep the native experience rich, and retaine UI control.